Scheme to axe prisons watchdog sets off alarm bells

The NSW Government is poised to close down the office of the state's only specialist jail watchdog, the Inspector-General of Prisons, sparking fierce criticism from legal and prisoner advocates.

Yesterday the State Opposition warned that the decision would result in an entrenchment of "cronyism and corruption" in the prison system.

The Justice Minister, John Hatzistergos, tabled the results of a review into the office of the Inspector-General late yesterday and highlighted the major recommendation that the Ombudsman take over the role.

The review, conducted by the former police commissioner John Avery and the former chairman of the Corrective Services Commission, Vern Dalton, concluded that the Inspector-General's role could be provided through "the better management" of investigative bodies already available to the Government.

Mr Hatzistergos said the report highlighted duplication under current arrangements. He said about 15 per cent of complaints concerning the prison system were made to both the Inspector-General and the Ombudsman.");document.write("

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Mr Hatzistergos also signalled that the Government might consider the report's recommendation that comprehensive inspections of all NSW prisons be undertaken on a two-year cycle and that panels include an independent representative.

The Opposition's spokesman on prisons, Andrew Humpherson, described the release of the report as a "sneaky late afternoon announcement".

"It simply means that the Government has acted to entrench corruption and cronyism in the state's prison system," Mr Humpherson said.

"The Ombudsman does not have the experience to pursue systemic cultural and structural problems in the prison system and, if anything, the Inspector-General required greater teeth to undertake this important role."

According to Brett Collins, the spokesman for the prison advocacy group Justice Action, the review's finding was like putting Colonel Sanders in charge of the chicken coop.

He challenged the review team and the minister to say how many submissions supported the Inspector-General's position and how many were against.

"We do not know of one person who thought the Inspector- General was not doing an excellent job," Mr Collins said.

The group also warned that all other states had moved towards the creation of a specialist office in a bid to maintain transparency in prisons.